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Joined April 2021
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If Scott Boland were an all-rounder, his name would be Scott Bolandbat. He’d also have made hundreds in each of the past two Tests as well as taken the 15 wickets he already has.
Raise your hand if you’ve never done anything wrong. I know I’ve done plenty wrong, particularly in my youth.
Thanks to the great work of the Australian and UK governments, cricket boards, Joe Root, Joe Root’s dog and the not-so-stellar work of Tim Paine’s Twitter account, the Ashes is on this summer!
Cultural sensitivity is the buzzword on everyone’s lips at present.
Part 1 examined the role of a coach in producing excellent results on the field. Part 2 seeks to examine the role of players in a team and the value they add to their respective sides.
This is the first part in a series of three articles which examines great sides and seeks to understand why they are excellent.
The 2021 season has not been kind to The North Queensland Cowboys, who have seen their campaign go from bad to promising to dismal in the space of just 23 weeks.
The International Cricket Council has announced that they will be submitting a bid to have cricket as an Olympic sport in Los Angeles, 2028.
The Olympics has been on the TV at my house for hours everyday.
There are two certainties in Australian life: that Vegemite will continue to be Australia’s national spread and that Mitchell Starc will have the new ball in his hand on the opening day of Australia’s summer of cricket. At least, the last one held true until this year.
Much has been written about Origin eligibility in the wake of the Ronaldo Mulitalo farce. For some reason, despite the eligibility criteria being “tightened” in 2012, the fact is that there are still loopholes.
The 2015 NRL grand final was, for a Queenslander, one of the most epic rugby league moments.
The witching hour for the World Test Championship is upon us.
Greg Chappell has seen almost everything. He is a respected member of the former Australian captains club but is one of the greatest batsmen Australia has ever produced.
The entire world – not just the sporting world – is watching India.
Cricket appears to be at odds with itself about the best way forward and which format of the game is the best to promote across the world.
Who is the best leader you can think of?
Richie Benaud once uttered, “Captaincy is 90 per cent luck and 10 per cent skill, but don’t try it without that 10 per cent.”
What frustrates me is how the selectors used the “injury” excuse on both Richardson and Neser to prevent them from playing in Melbourne (even though both could’ve played), yet Starc injures himself batting and was back to batting and bowling as normal. Hazlewood bowled 5 overs with a side strain in Brisbane and few people batted an eyelid. It’s ridiculous.
Is it really horses for courses? The lack of consistency in Australian selection is frustrating
What do you mean by that?
Is it really horses for courses? The lack of consistency in Australian selection is frustrating
It absolutely did. Word was that Richardson was available for Sydney but that the selectors had to go with the hot hand in Boland. I reckon Richardson’s a shoo-in for Hobart, and it seems that Boland may be under an injury could. Also, if Richardson and Neser were held out for apparently “minor” niggles for Melbourne (an excuse to bring in Scotty Boland), then why wasn’t Starc held out for his obvious discomfort in his side when batting?
Is it really horses for courses? The lack of consistency in Australian selection is frustrating
He’s injured and doesn’t have a great Shield record. Otherwise, good shout out.
Is it really horses for courses? The lack of consistency in Australian selection is frustrating
Neser took 22 wickets in his last 5 matches in County cricket. That’s impressive!
Neser again: A plan to stop permanent 12th men
Obviously Pattinson in top form outbowls Neser in top form. Richardson is young, but my issue with him at the moment is that he hasn’t had the miles in his legs in recent years with the red ball to sustain him.
Neser again: A plan to stop permanent 12th men
Nope, but Richardson got injured. How does he just jump the queue because of coming back from an injury? Neser was playing for Aus A because he hadn’t had a game in a couple of months because of a baby and a dodgy hammy.
Neser again: A plan to stop permanent 12th men
I’d agree that he didn’t outbowl Neser. Jhye is a wonderful bowler with a great future, but he suffers from trying to hard, as many of us have done.
Neser again: A plan to stop permanent 12th men
Paul, I always wait for your comment on every article that I write as I have a great deal of respect for your opinion. I’m a firm believer in picking the best XI, and I agree that Richardson tends to offer more with his skiddy bounce at pace than Neser does. However, India showed last year what could be done by utilising an entire squad (more out of necessity than anything else). That, coupled with Australia’s tiredness and poor tactical decisions by Paine in the 3rd and 4th Tests, led to an Australian defeat.
Really, if you’re on a longer tour (and these days a longer tour is the equivalent of 5 or 6 weeks) and playing heaps of cricket in a condensed period of time, rotating the squad is a logical way to keep everyone fresh and firing. You’re right in that with the way the concussion sub works these days you really need 13 men available every game. Playing the entire squad allows every single person to get game time and develop at a higher level, and you can do so in such a way that it doesn’t jeopardise the chances of winning.
Neser again: A plan to stop permanent 12th men
If that’s the case, then why haven’t they made more of Overton’s height and his apparent “suitability” for Australian pitches? Oh wait. Maybe that’s because Overton bowls around 125 as well. And for the record, I think Ollie Robinson has been one of England’s best despite “only” bowling 125 kmh.
Neser again: A plan to stop permanent 12th men
I also wonder how Captain Pat would’ve handled Neser.
Neser again: A plan to stop permanent 12th men
Yep. Spot on, Rob. Richardson ended up with 5-for in the second innings, but he bowled 11 overs to Richardson’s 19 in the first innings and 13 to Richardson’s 19.1 in the second. He wasn’t given every opportunity. He did look threatening when he had even the older ball and got the ball to talk quite a bit. The excuse would be, “Well, he’s coming off a hamstring issue”, but he bowled 19 in total in the Aus A game. He’d proved his match fitness already.
Neser again: A plan to stop permanent 12th men
That’s interesting. I wasn’t aware that was the BBC’s rationale. I guess that makes sense on a number of levels.
Regardless of what you think of Paine, he deserves some mercy
These days, with any allegation of sexual harassment/racism, the employer has to at least appear to be acting on it even if the person is completely innocent or else the woke brigade will be after them. Can’t have that now, can we?
Regardless of what you think of Paine, he deserves some mercy
I agree. I’d tend to lean towards Jimmy Peirson as he has some leadership experience as well as being younger, in form and one of the best keepers we have.
Regardless of what you think of Paine, he deserves some mercy
Neither Paul nor I said that it was appropriate to be sending those pics. The problem is the way it was handled and the public’s response to it. Just because none of us has done it doesn’t mean that none of us would do it if given the opportunity. We’re really no better than Paine, and the best solution would have been for him to have stood down from the team in 2018 when this came to light in the first place and for them to have looked for another captain when the time came.
Regardless of what you think of Paine, he deserves some mercy
Which is why I think that the timing of this couldn’t have been worse! The poor bloke has to live with the guilt of this for the rest of his life and will someday have to acknowledge this to his own kids which will bring it up all over again. So, yes, let’s not crucify Paine over a moral failing that did not impact the integrity of the game. It impacted his own personal integrity and that of CA to decide to appoint him captain with a so-called “squeaky clean image” after Sandpapergate.
Regardless of what you think of Paine, he deserves some mercy
Hear hear! Well said. A lot of it comes down to other things about us like our religion (which impacts our views of morality), our own interest in the game/player (which impacts our view of the players) and the way society has culturally conditioned us (which impacts our understanding of the importance of celebrity).
Regardless of what you think of Paine, he deserves some mercy
Great calls all round! I’d love to see Starc given a rest mid-series for Neser and for Cummins to have a louder on-field voice.
This Ashes series will be closer than you think
I think Pucovski’s bigger issue, like so many in the Aussie side, is his inability to play the short stuff. Many have pointed out post-Phillip Hughes’s passing that more attention needs to be given to how players play the short ball, but so little has been done around that. Gone are the days of Ponting, Hayden and Gilchrist when they’d just boss the short stuff to the fence, and bowlers knew that bowling there wasn’t going to end well for them. Nowadays, short-pitched bowling has become a real tactic because of players’ inability to play pace. Either way, I love the idea of Pucosvki opening/playing at all, but this inability to play the short ball has to be addressed.
Australia badly need some games for their fringe Test players
Great take on both players! Totally agree with you on Lyon. I’d like to see Swepson play in Sydney this year to give him some experience. What do you think?
The five-Test England quick who could make or break their Ashes campaign
Paul, another great article! My only issue is with your selection of Pattinson over Steketee. We know what Pattinson can do, and Steketee is coming off a 10-for and has been consistently good over the past 2 seasons.
I agree that the criteria must be consistency rather than one-off good performances. That’s why your selections of Khawaja and Maddinson are good, although, I’m still not yet convinced that Maddinson has the temperament to make it at the top level yet. Most of his runs have been made on roads, but let’s see how he goes. I’d also love to see Peirson get a shot as I think he’s got a big future for Australia, he might just be another excellent, overlooked QLD keeper.
But overall, you’re 1000% right. We don’t have enough form to pick a side. That’s why consistency is so important so guys like Head, Maddinson, Green and Street would be good selections.
Australia badly need some games for their fringe Test players
He always plays well against Australia even in Australia, but you’re right. He is older, and this will likely be his last tour.
This Ashes series will be closer than you think
Hahaha I missed that! I was joking about Jimmy and was attempting to be humorous, but I can take it back.
This Ashes series will be closer than you think
Thanks, Paul. I value your opinion greatly. I obviously wasn’t clear enough in my article initially that this shouldn’t necessarily apply to the entire side. If there are obvious places where they shine, like Boland at the MCG or Neser at the Gabba, then pick them. But don’t select Boland at the MCG, call it “horses for courses” but not pick Neser at the Gabba.
I also argued for Khawaja playing over Head or Harris because Khawaja has a great record on most grounds in Australia (particularly the SCG).
Obviously, they can’t carry a squad of 30-40 players, but don’t apply one policy to one bowler and not to all bowlers. Using the same logic, Starc and Lyon should be rested in Hobart because of their atrocious records in the 5th Test of the series.
Is it really horses for courses? The lack of consistency in Australian selection is frustrating